SS10 Citation PK
Reviewed by:
unregistered, on november 06, 2008 1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Price paid: £ 120

Purchased from: Wessex Music Ltd, Sherborne

Features: Well, what can I say. Just a Standard Strat copy, totally run-of-the-mill, made in China. It features a nice satin black finish, Vintage tremolo system, maple fretboard and other Standard pack things, such as an amplifier, strap, gig bag, cable, etc.
The amplifier is decent for the price. It features a power on/off button (duh), on board overdrive (red button), a master volume control, and treble and bass knobs. Also, there is input for an MP3/CD player and headphones, however I've tried the MP3 input jack numerous times and it's too damn quiet. I turn the player up to maximum, and the guitar just dominates over it. To get a half decent Harmony with the track I have to turn the volume knob on the guitar most of the way down, and even then it dominates over the MP3/CD sound. I just use my MP3 with headphones, and turn up the guitar.
The strings included are awful too. I used up both sets then went out to buy a pack of Ernie Ball Regular Slinkies - what a difference in sound! It sounded crisp, and beautiful. So I'd recommend buying a pack of EBs along with this guitar. // 5

Sound: I play stuff like classic rock (e.g AC/DC), modern rock (e.g Muse) and various other genres, and this guitar does it very nicely indeed. As a first guitar, the sound from the included amplifier sounds amazing when you get a good tone on it - but don't take my word for it. This is only my first guitar, and amp, and haven't played a great guitar with great amp yet. But it sounds good to me!
The amp is really, really loud, for a bedroom player anyway. However outside the bedroom once, I turned it up some and have had some feedback problems, i.e screeching. Then again, this was in a mate's shed so I was possibly too close to the amp with it.
Nice pickups, but I may change them for some Wilkinsons soon. However they're great for beginners. // 8

Action, Fit & Finish: The guitar came set up with rather high action. The pickups were flush with the pickguard, at least I think... really can't remember. The routing was alright, no problems there.
However, I must say the body wood was terrible. It seemed like compressed dust, it strips screws so easily! Plus two tuners were dodgy. The B string tuner tightens as you turn the knob, so much that I only just reach B as it tightens to the point where I can't turn it any more. The G string tuner stripped out the gears (!)
However the worst was the whammy bar. Hoo boy. This was my first electric guitar, as I mentioned, and I really was looking forward to testing out the bar. I tried to screw it in - it absolutely refused! I pushed in while screwing, didn't help. Finally, several weeks later, I tried again. I pushed down my darndest this time and it finally went in. Happy whammying then? Nope. It was tight for a while, then began to wobble in the hole, decreasing accuracy. It remains like that to this day. // 4

Reliability & Durability: Yes, actually, I would play this Live. However, that's beacuse I made a few modifications. I fitted a better body from a real Stratocaster, along with a real Strat pickguard. It seems fine so I reckon it'll withstand Live playing really well... however if you keep yours stock it's a bit of a gamble. Stripping strap buttons anyone?
The body wood is AWFUL! It's like chipboard or something. It's so awful that I don't really wanna talk about it anymore...
The hardware is dire. I mentioned the bridge above. It just doesn't seem like it's gonna last... same with the rest of the hardware. The metal is just awful. It strips screw holes like hell... I mentioned the whammy bar and the stripping tuners above. This is where the guitar (in stock form) fails awfully. // 2

Overall Impression: I suppose, if you just want a cheap ass thing to play around on. But that 120 quid or so would be far better spent. If I had known what I know about the Citation now, I definitely would have saved up a little more and got a proper Squier Strat.
Yeah, there is something I wish I asked before buying it. "D'ya have any Squier Strat packs for the same price?"
Haha.
If it were stolen/lost, I would grieve till my pants fell off. But only because I modified it and made it completely my own... it's my baby. But I wouldn't be sad if it was still stock... not at all.
What I love about it? Well, I made it my own with some new parts, so I love the whole guitar. But before the big makeover, I sat there playing, thinking "man, this is my first electric, but I know this is dire, man"
I don't really hate anything about it, for the same reason I love it. I modified it and made it my own. To be honest, I only bought it because it's one of two cheap packs my music store had. The other was an ugly Yamaha metal guitar.
Look, kiddo, if you're scouting about for reviews because you're about to buy one - DON'T! Honestly, do not. Save up some more for a Squier Strat Pack. It'll look and play better than this. This sounds good, to a beginner at least, but trust me, the build quality and materials put me off it no matter what it sounds like.
If you already have one... then modify it like I did. Because in stock form it's just... dire. Sorry, Silvertone. // 4

SS10 Citation PK
Reviewed by:
unregistered, on april 16, 2009 1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Price paid: $ 120

Purchased from: Costco

Features: Average Strat copy, including bridge. With 3 single-coil pickups, 5-way selector, 1 volume and 2 tone controls. Looks like maple neck and rosewood fretboard, can't tell what kind of wood though on the body. Includes amp, gig bag, strap, cable, allen wrenches (2, for truss rod and bridge), spare strings, and tuner, although none of them are very good at all. // 6

Sound: I (try to) play grunge, mostly Green River of Pearl Jam, as well as a tiny bit of jazz sometimes. It really doesn't suit my style, and doesn't seem like it would suit anyone's style, unless you like fret buzz. I'm still using the amp it came with, which seems fine, although it's really loud for such a small one. The sound of the guitar is actually really good for such a cheap guitar, but it is still beaten out by a Squire. Can't make too many sounds, because the tone controls are almost completely useless. // 6

Action, Fit & Finish: The action was set up rather high when it came in, and the bridge-things were crooked too, even the pickups were crooked, and had to be adjusted. The damn frets were too wide for the fret board and scratch you if you happen to move your hand up the neck, and several of them were too big, and would make the string buzz, mostly on the first few frets. There were absolutely no finish flaws at all, but the body wood is terrible, it looks like they simply compressed sawdust together, and even the laminate seeped through the wood. The neck and fretboard, however, are fine.
The tuning pegs were loose on some, so much that some strings will come out of tune right after you finish tuning them! Strings were all right on mine, but I switched them out for Ernie Ball Super Slinkies, which sound much nicer than the crappy original strings. // 3

Reliability & Durability: I don't know if this guitar will withstand Live playing, but I don't think that anyone serious about playing, or good enough to take it to a gig will even use this guitar anymore. The guitar and hardware as a while seems like it would take a beating, and the strap buttons are fairly solid. I don't think any one would even take this to a gig, unless as an emergency backup, as mentioned above. // 7

Overall Impression: I have been playing for about 2 years, and even though it is not a very good guitar, it is a guitar nonetheless, and shouldn't be complaining because it looks good, and can still play. If it were stolen or lost, I think I would get a Squire Strat or Jagmaster instead, because it is alright, but not that good. I don't like that it is an extremely crappy Strat clone, but it still plays and can take being dropped many times, adn the finish is durable. I have only played a few other guitars, and this one is still on the bottom, but, it is preety good for beginers or those just learning electric, so it does alright. // 6

They are. I had a Precision Bass made by them. Their quality has really gone downhill. My friend has a Silvertone from the 1940s, and it's a beautiful guitar(Acoustic of course) but anything they've produced in probably the past decade that I've seen has been complete shit.
Squiers are god compared to this thing.